Microsoft posts first quarterly loss in its historyJuly 20, 2012 - 12:44 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Computing giant Microsoft has made the first quarterly loss in its history after it wrote off some of the value of its online advertising business. The loss came after it wrote down the value of Aquantive by $6.2bn (£3.94bn; 5bn euros), which failed to bring the profits expected by Microsoft. That led to a $492m loss in the three months to the end of June, compared with a profit of $5.9bn a year ago. The company has not made a loss since it joined the stock market in 1986. It took over Aquantive in 2007 but it struggled to compete with rival Google and paid $6.3bn. Microsoft is doing well in other areas, despite the decline in popularity of its Windows operating system, which dominated the personal computer market for years. Revenue for the three months to June rose by 4% to $18.06bn. Excluding the adjustment for the asset write-down, and the holding back of some income related to the launch of its Windows 8 system, Microsoft profits beat those expected by investors. Shares were up 1.6% after the results were announced. Microsoft says the update of the Windows systems is the most important redesign in more than 10 years. Windows 8, which will launch in October, will feature a new look that will present applications in a mosaic of tiles. Importantly, it will also enable the operating system to work on tablet computers, which along with smartphones are the fastest-growing sector of the computing market. Microsoft is also planning to release its own tablet, the Surface. Earlier this week, Microsoft previewed its next version of the Office system, which is expected to be released next year. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |